June 18: Music Camp, Sideways Cats, and Snail Mail

We now have a rising 7th grader in the house! Amy finished her last week of 6th grade with a fun-filled day at Kennywood with some of her best friends. Kennywood is a local amusement park. In past years we have all gone as a family but this year Sarah had Music Camp with one of her friends, run by Anna at our house, and I didn’t want to cut that short. Also, last year Sarah lasted about an hour at  Kennywood before really wanting to be done. A few weeks ago I asked Sarah if she would want to go to Kennywood after music camp and she said no. 

Sarah had a wonderful week of Music Camp aside from the day when she suddenly didn’t feel well just after breakfast. It was the scenario we are only too familiar with from about a year ago of her suddenly saying, “whoa!” and feeling headachey, woozy, and like she needed to throw up. She did. Voluminously. I was teaching but Anna handled the day beautifully, as beautifully as they facilitated the days when everyone was healthy. So I knew Sarah was in good hands, but it was still hard to be away from her when I knew she felt miserable. Luckily she felt better by the end of the day. We don’t know for sure what brought on her day of sickness, but my immediate suspicion was that it was due to increasing one of Sarah’s anti-seizure medications. It is what she used to be on for years, but as we switched to another one and weaned her off the oxcarbazepine then that coincided with her symptoms of phlegminess improving a year ago. We changed many things though so we don’t know what was the most important shift. We put her back on oxcarbazepine now because clearly the topiramate hasn’t been enough to keep her seizures at bay. But her dose of oxcarbazepine is much lower than it was a year ago. Until Tuesday of this past week when we bumped it to a higher level. Thursday she felt crappy, so we backed the level to what it had been. Fingers crossed this is somehow just the right amount to keep seizures in check and keep Sarah still feeling well. 

For Music Camp there were many fun times over the four days of health. They all made miniature drum sets using old yogurt containers, jam lids, tooth picks, and other recycled objects. They made paper bag puppets and beads that they used to make bead watches and bracelets. Anna made Sarah a beaded ring too. We were amazed by the detailed beading Sarah did, not needing any help to thread the tiny beads. I have trouble even picking up these beads because they are so small. Anna and I both had the sense that Sarah and her friend were connecting and talking to each other more than in past years, which is super exciting because they will be at the same school next year. One subject of conversation was after Sarah had a melt-down Friday when they got back from the playground. Sarah wanted a donut from the batch I had made in the morning. I said no but that she could have one after dinner. She really didn’t like that answer and was loud in her vocal protest. She also slammed the metal lid onto the donut tin. Her friend got upset about how loud it all was. While a double upset was difficult and I was glad Anna and I were both there (Anna handled it incredibly gracefully and calmly), what impressed me was hearing Sarah and her friend talking when there were no adults present, as they discussed what had happened. They then practiced deep breathing to be calm - so deeply and quickly that Anna and I each panicked that someone was having an asthma attack! But all was well. Lastly, one of my favorite moments that I witnessed during Music Camp was when Anna would play a song on the xylophone and the kids tried to guess what it was. Once they guessed it then all of them would sing it together, using their own instruments too if they wanted. It was so fun. I haven’t seen Sarah so delighted and engaged in an activity with sparkly eye contact and clearly enunciated singing in I don’t know how long. 

Carl got Sarah a banner of individual letters that spells “Congrats Grad” and large wall sign that says the same. She had liked them so much when she graduated that he figured she would like her own and he was right. She loves them. He also correctly predicted Amy’s glee when she saw him wearing a shirt that says “I'm a potato,” as she affectionately calls him a potato. 

You know when you see a part of the world and it seems to be sideways from normal? Well, that is often how I feel when I look at our steps and see our cat lying on her side with her feet on the vertical part of the stair, as if her world would be upright if you just rotated the entire house. Amy recently joined her so there were two beings lying on the steps.

Yesterday we went to our favorite lake beach for the first time this season. It wasn’t really warm enough for much water time but that didn’t stop Amy from at least testing it out. She and Sarah also spent many minutes playing in the sand. We finished the day by watching an animated version of Frog and Toad stories, originally by Arnold Lobel. We all love the books and the animated version did not disappoint. One of the stories was “The Letter.” When we were done watching, Amy wrote a letter to Sarah/Toad from Amy/Frog and then pretended to be the snail delivering it.

I have been frustrated by our kitchen cabinet storage situation for a long time, especially regarding containers and lids. Carl bought kits to install pull-out drawers behind a cabinet door and our life is much better now. Our cat wanted to help with the installation though, climbing into the space before the drawers were in. Of course. Just like a cat.

Overall I know things have all been wonderful and good. I will also admit that things have been feeling hard for me these past few days. I haven’t had the space and patience with Sarah that I sometimes have. It also doesn’t help that when Sarah suddenly doesn’t feel well then my whole body fills with adrenaline and also frustration and desperation. It’s as if I’m mad at her (perhaps due to inconsistent answers so it is hard to know what is really going on) and the situation and feeling helpless to make it better but like it is also my job to make it better. Her times of screaming have also felt challenging, and I’m nervous about when she is at a new school with a friend who gets upset by loud noises. That is not a good combination. I’m hoping somehow it will help Sarah figure out different ways of expressing her upset. But I also understand the feeling of being filled head to toe with such frustration that you want to scream. I have moments when I can’t keep it in check either. Carl is about to be away for a week for work and I won’t be working as much as usual so I can be home with Sarah on some days (Amy will be at a day camp). I’m feeling a bit of trepidation about that, even though I’m sure we will have some lovely times.

June 11: Daughter Date Delights

With Sarah home from school, Carl worked from home almost every day this week so I could teach and see clients. On Tuesday I had the day to be with Sarah and we went uniform shopping so she is all set for school in the fall - except for the tiny detail that the school still hasn’t published the start date. It is hard for me to believe that they don’t already know it so why they wouldn’t share it is beyond me. Or if they don’t know it, why is that so hard to determine? Anyway, when we were at the uniform store, Sarah saw an Ellis shirt. She won’t be attending Ellis but she loved the tiger on the shirt so we got it anyway. Can one really have too many tiger shirts? Plus, it’s a different tiger than the St. Therese tiger. She has been wearing her new shirt almost 24/7, as she does anytime she has a new favorite item of clothing. 

Wednesday night I took Sarah to see Blippi live. Blippi is a tv personality with tons of energy and enthusiasm and with shows geared towards little kids. Sarah has been watching his show for ages so I was hopeful that she would like the live show, but I was uncertain given how she felt overwhelmed when we went as a family to see Frozen live. I was prepared to arrive and leave immediately if that is what Sarah wanted. Instead she was unfazed by the cacophony of an auditorium filled with young children. As soon as she arrived she insisted on getting a Blippi shirt so we did that before finding our seats. She was already wearing a Blippi hat. It was an incredible delight to watch her enjoying the show, singing along with the songs and clapping after each one. She knew the songs like any of us know our favorite album and our favorite rock star. We stayed the whole time and even intermission and our departure went smoothly. 

Friday night I took Amy to see The Little Mermaid movie in a theater and we loved it. She dressed in a mermaid costume that somehow used to reach her feet and now comes to her knees. She has grown 3 inches over the past year so perhaps this is no surprise. I think I was smiling or laughing the entire time, except for the scenes that got me teary, such as when Triton says how much he will miss his daughter Ariel when she won’t be living with him anymore. 

Amy’s school had spirit week so each day had a different theme. One of the days the prompt was to dress as your favorite Marvel character or as a teacher. Amy decided to create her own superhero named Glitch. I love that when she didn’t see a Marvel fit for her she stepped outside of the box. 

June 4: Graduation and Baby Bunnies

We now have a rising 10th grader! Sarah is all done with school! Somehow I had no cognitive dissonance when I knew her graduation activities were on Friday June 2, but that her school calendar went through June 6. I assumed she would have the graduation activities and then finish out school on Monday and Tuesday. Ah, but no. She is all done with 8th grade and all done with going to St. Therese, where she was for the past 7 years. She is all done with having the most reliable bus driver in the world who arrived promptly every day at the same time - to the minute! 

Friday at 12:30 there was a slide show at the school for graduates. Part-way through, Sarah was done. She was low-level whining and yelling about wanting to be done. But we wanted to make it through to see her slides. Being a W last name meant a long wait in a class of 38 kids. We also knew that after the slide show all of the graduates would walk through the building one last time before meeting the parents outside. Carl, Sarah’s teacher, the principal, Sonia, and I all worked to help Sarah regain her equilibrium and somehow Sarah managed. She was in a calm-enough state when her pictures were on the big screen and there was a cheer from her classmates. It was nice to have them see her at a swim lesson and in a piano recital to know what she does outside of her school time.

When the graduates emerged from their school walk-through they release balloons and Sarah was delighted to see them all fly away. Then we drove home and Sarah napped for two hours before she and I argued about what she would wear for her graduation Mass. She insisted on wearing cut-off shorts. I insisted that almost anything else would be ok, but not those. Eventually she opted for her uniform shorts and a black and green/yellow musical note blouse. And Goodnight Moon socks of course!

The Mass went well. Sarah’s teacher sat in the pew with us to help Sarah stay at ease and that all went smoothly for the Mass plus award ceremony, which together lasted for almost two hours. When it was her turn, Sarah walked up to the front of the church by herself to receive her diploma. When she won awards for participating in the school musical and being a school helper delivering supplies to teachers, she stood with her fellow award-winners to receive applause. When it was all over the graduates stood up from their families and walked together to the back of the church. Sarah had a moment of being distracted and slowing her pace. Her Resource Room classmate whom she has been with for the past 7 years put his arm around her to get her walking with everyone. It was so sweet! 

There was a dinner for everyone in the cafeteria and then we headed to the gym for some tiger cheers. Amy did cartwheels and lots of cheering. She also had some feelings when we got home. It’s been quite a span of weeks with lots of moments celebrating Sarah and attending her events. That can be hard for a sibling who hasn’t reached those milestones yet and whose school doesn’t do musicals. I was impressed that Amy could verbalize the feelings and we had some nice snuggles. 

The other highlight of the week was when Amy spotted baby bunnies in our backyard!! We have had two bunnies back there almost all spring and have come to think of them as our pets that we don’t have to take care of but get to see often. One night at dinner Amy realized there were baby bunnies with the mom. We watched them nurse! We were seriously beside ourselves and imploding from the cuteness. They were so little! And also so dirt-colored. If you didn’t see the movement you could barely see them. Now of course the bar has been raised so I am no longer satisfied just seeing the grown-up bunnies. I want more baby bunnies!

May 28: Sickness, Seizures, and Tie-Dye: An Exploration of No Sleep

Amy did not get fitted for a scoliosis brace on Monday. Instead she threw up on the drive there, got mopped up, threw up on the drive home, showered, and slept for most of the day. She was miserable when she was awake, hating being sick. Monday night she slept next to me, but she was a bit congested so was not the quietest bedmate. I felt like I didn’t sleep at all, although I’m sure I must have slept some. Tuesday morning Amy said her mouth and throat hurt. I was working all day so Carl took her to Urgent Care and stayed home with her. At Urgent Care everyone expected her to have strep throat, but her test was negative. She slept and rested all day and by the evening definitely seemed to have rounded a bend towards wellness. I looked forward to a good night of sleep.

At 2 am Sarah had a seizure. Once she was able to move she got into bed next to me, but neither of us reached deep sleep. I’m not confident I slept more at all. At 5 when Sarah was awake I said she could sleep more and could rest as long as she needed. I told her I could drive her to school later if she wanted or she could stay home. She insisted on going to school on the bus. It was field day after all. She had been looking forward to this day for ages and was especially eager for the tie-dye station. 

So on Wednesday both girls went to school. Sarah took a short nap that afternoon and seemed tired, but… instead of getting a solid night of sleep, she woke every hour or so to eagerly see if her tie-dye shirt was dry. It had been sent home still coiled and in a ziplock bag. After enough time had passed we rinsed it and hung it to dry. Sarah did not want to put it in the dryer, despite her desire to wear it immediately. At midnight she reached a point of desperation, as did I. Somehow Carl had the internal emotional space and creativity to be incredible. If it had been up to me I might have yelled and forced the issue by throwing the shirt in the dryer, but that wouldn’t have helped the big picture of my relationship with Sarah and probably would have taken up as much time as Carl’s patient route took. At least I was wise enough to leave and let him handle things. He asked Sarah what she wanted to do and with each idea she had for drying the shirt, he acted upon it so they could try it. They tried a towel. They tried blowing on it. Sarah tried wearing it. They considered putting it on the balcony. Eventually they rigged up a string in Sarah’s open window, with the shirt on a hanger hanging on the string. Sarah’s door was open and the balcony door was open. There was a pretty constant cool breeze which meant that at 4am when Sarah woke to check on it she was able to wear it. Carl and I felt quite tired on Thursday. 

Thursday Sarah had a dress-down day so she could wear her tie-dye shirt. She came home from school, made herself some chocolate milk, and immediately headed upstairs for a three hour nap. I napped for maybe an hour of that. Friday Sarah came home from school and again took a looooong nap, only waking for a short dinner in bed, and then going back to sleep. 

Now, beyond the details of sleep or lack thereof…

I try my best to not clean the kids’ rooms, but sometimes it is very hard to let Sarah’s room stay covered in clean and dirty clothes. But this week I did it! And she actually cleaned it on her own. And she didn’t just put everything in the hamper or on top of her dresser or draped over her closet bar! She actually put clean clothes in drawers, hung shirts on hangers, and put dirty clothes in the hamper!! And that was all of her own accord. Then she made a get well card for Amy! 

We had a tiny and adorable fledgling on our porch Wednesday afternoon. 

Amy had an all-day field trip on Friday, getting back to her school at 8:20pm. I’m so glad she was well by then so she could enjoy the day. 

Last night at Sarah’s suggestion we cooked hot dogs over a fire and made s’mores. The fire was more ashy than usual, with many floating bits of debris. Sarah spontaneously broke out singing, “Oh I love ash, anything dirty or dingy or dusty.” That is a spin off of Oscar the Grouch’s “I love trash.” We cracked up.

If you are looking for something to watch, I recommend the documentary “Working” on Netflix. Carl is in episode 3! Aurora is one of the featured companies so he knows a lot of the people, and our friends are in episode 4.

May 21: Publishers, Naps, and Duets

I heard back from She Writes Press, the hybrid publisher I submitted to a few weeks ago… they gave me the green light! They want to publish my book! They said I passed their selection process with flying colors. I got the email Monday morning in between clients and I thought I would climb out of my skin. I was so full of adrenaline and joy and I wanted to run around screaming, but I couldn’t at that particular moment. Then, I told a writer that I know about my news and they told me to be careful that this wasn’t an arrangement in which I would pay the publisher. Down crashed my world and euphoria. The whole deal with hybrid publishers is that the writer takes the financial risk and pays money up front, but keeps more control and gets a higher percentage if/when the book sells. Perhaps I hadn’t made that clear when I shared my news. And I hadn’t remembered all of the details about She Writes Press. I just knew that I suddenly was doubting myself and my choice and thinking I should start submitting to agents to go the traditional publishing route. I felt so jangled. When I told Carl and my immediate family and some close friends, their congratulations fell onto a small, doubting me. They were so excited for me (Carl even got me a bouquet that our cat won’t eat! It is made of balloons) and I couldn’t find my way back to excitement not matter what I did. If my normal existence was that of a drawn image that was colored in, I now felt like someone had erased my borders. 

Talking further with Carl and my parents, reading more about She Writes Press and the whole hybrid business, and talking with an author about to be published by She Writes Press helped me slowly fill in my borders and feel like my excited self again. I actually felt more solid and strong about my decision. This is absolutely the right publisher for me. And now I get to feel completely overwhelmed and intimidated by all that has to happen next. I do have a lot of time though. Assuming all goes to plan, my book will come out in the spring of 2025, so two years from now. On the one hand that seems like forever. On the other hand, with all that has to happen that actually helps me breathe and think I have time to take care of everything. But wow! I’m rather in awe that I’m at this moment and that this will really happen. 

In other news… I have started trusting Sarah’s naps more. Ever since she slept for 13 hours after her seizure and day with her piano recital and then went on to smoothly handle an intense week of rehearsals and shows, I have realized that maybe I can trust her body to know what she needs. So often I have woken her from naps when it got to be a certain time in the afternoon because I wanted to make sure she could go to sleep at bedtime. Now I think the best thing is for her to get the sleep she needs no matter when it happens. 

Carl took Sarah out last Sunday to practice biking and he said she was really getting the balancing part even better than in the past. 

Amy is all better from her roller skating injury and is currently at a Girl Scout camping trip with some of her best friends. She is also now 5’5.” We met with the pediatrician, as the orthopedic doctor had suggested, and the pediatrician wasn’t concerned about any of the things the orthopedic doctor was noticing. But, she is still sending us to a neurologist so that we are thorough in our response to check everything that could pertain to her scoliosis. Tomorrow morning we go to have her fitted for a brace. 

Grammy and Granddad sent the girls presents just for the heck of it and they were some of the best presents ever. Sarah has loved the K for Killers that lights up in a Killers music video. Grammy and Granddad got her a light-up K! Amy received Katie the Catsitter graphic novels and loves them. The only trouble was that she didn’t want to put them down ever and that makes it hard to get ready for school or bed. 

Last night Carl and Sarah played a duet with Sarah on the piano and Carl with his guitar. There is an app that allowed them to follow music on the iPad, one measure at a time, while playing the song in the background. Sarah loved it. Carl started making up a song so they could have their own lyrics. Sarah chimed in and now sings it on her own. It is all about tigers and pandas and circles and tails. 

May 14: High School Musical Jr.

Last Sunday after Sarah’s piano recital she slept for 13 hours! I woke her for her evening meds and some gatorade, but then she went right back to sleep. I was worried that she was getting sick and that it would impact her musical. She wasn’t getting sick! I think that long sleep was what she needed to fully recover from her seizure. If there was an impact to the musical it was that getting so much sleep set her up well to handle long dress rehearsals that pushed dinner and bedtime late. Not only did she handle all of that beautifully, she even got up before she needed to each morning and was often ready for school before the bus arrived. For most of the school year she has been racing to finish brushing her teeth and put on her shoes while the bus waits, so this was notable to be ready early. 

Friday night and last night she had her performances of High School Musical Jr. It was so good! And she did a wonderful job! I was able to watch a dress rehearsal on Thursday and I recorded the whole thing because I was still nervous that something would happen to mess up the performances. What I learned at the dress rehearsal was that it was nearly impossible to see Sarah. She was in the far back left behind many people, some of them tall. There was one moment when she came towards the front for a few seconds. For Friday night we picked seats in the front right of the auditorium, hoping the angle would help us see her - it did! We saw a few more glimpses of her, but they were still incredibly brief. Last night we sat in the balcony and could see her almost all of the time she was on stage! 

I know I marveled last year, but I marvel again this year that she was part of a musical. This is a huge accomplishment, a huge feat of focus and patience and participation with a large group of people. She learned so many songs and needed to do specific moves with them. A couple of her castmates had to tug her back onstage sometimes because she was positioned at the edge where a few steps to one side meant she was offstage, but that all worked. I’m moved to awe and teariness every time, especially when I think about how Sarah’s teacher attends every single rehearsal with Sarah to make the whole thing possible. That is so far above and beyond the call of normal teaching unless you are the director! That is an incredible gift of time and support. And seriously! Sarah was in a musical!!! For the second year in a row!! For all of the Sarah-Rise volunteers and Amy volunteers who made it possible for me to have more Sarah-Rise time, for all of the people who do unofficial Sarah-Rise time still, for the family and friends who give her time and space and encouragement… please drink this in as your accomplishment too! Look how far we came!!!! Do you remember when we were trying to help her learn to speak or sing along with us or copy physical moves or attend to an interactive activity for longer than five or ten minutes?! I know that was years ago, but still. Still! This is immense! 

After each performance we came home with those family and friends who had come to cheer her on and had cake and ice cream. On Friday night I felt like I was in an episode of the Great British Baking show as I raced to finish frosting the cake in the five minutes left before we needed to leave the house. Amy laughed at me as I described throwing the frosting in the “squeezy bag” instead of “piping bag.” Sarah is currently all about the letter K for the Killers musical group. She likes to pose her body as a K and sometimes she calls me Mama K. So I piped a K onto the top of the cake. Later, Amy made a K out of candles propped against each other. Sarah was delighted.

I woke this morning to an array of cards for Mother’s day. Amy made a collage that is quite a work of art, and Sarah’s cards have some of her best hand writing ever. Carl’s card pointed out that not only have I done all of the things I wrote about in the Sarah-Rise book, but then I wrote about them and unexpectedly created Sarah’s favorite book. The only times she has been slow to get dressed for things this week was when she was immersed in reading my book draft! Amy is currently downstairs doing something in the kitchen for mother’s day and I’m not allowed to go in… she just brought me toast and scrambled eggs! 

In other news, Amy and I met with an orthopedic doctor regarding Amy’s scoliosis. We had been warned by multiple people that the orthopedic doctors at the Children’s hospital are not known for their good client interactions. We lucked out and got a good one! He was nice and answered all of my questions. We didn’t feel rushed and we felt respected. And… Amy has to get a brace that she will wear at least 18 hours a day until she is done growing taller. We knew this might happen so I’m not surprised, but it is still a thing. We also have a prescription for Schroth therapy. The doctor said it hasn’t been proven to be effective, but there are also many people who say it is helpful. With that and the brace, the main thing they do is to prevent the curvature from getting worse. They do not undo the curvature. The doctor also wants us to see the pediatrician again and a neurologist to make sure there isn’t something systemic going on as the cause of the scoliosis. That has me much more nervous than needing the brace. Perhaps that is a gift. Now I think, “brace? No problem!” Just please let all else be well. 

Amy got a bad scrape from a rollerskating fall when she tried going down a hill. Since she was only wearing a skort, when she fell on her rear there wasn’t much cloth on her legs to protect her. She got such a scrape that she stayed home from school on Wednesday, a very sad kiddo. Her best friend came over that morning and afternoon bringing little presents, but of course the best present was the visit. Amy’s mostly recovered now, which was especially great because she wanted to dress and move as a cheerleader last night for attending High School Musical Jr. 

Some of you have kindly inquired about my book. I’m still waiting. I think it has been two weeks since they said I would hear in three or four weeks. That doesn’t stop me from slightly holding my breath every time I check email or from checking their website almost daily! I still have some small edits to make, so I’m trying to focus my energy on that so that if they ask for the whole thing I can send it. 

May 7: Seizures, Strangers, and Extreme Heat

Amy’s English Language Arts teacher has had various art contests going alongside their various writing assignments. On Friday the winners were announced. Amy won 2nd place for two of the contests and 1st place for another! She was very excited, and this was a nice finish to her week that included PSSA testing. That testing on Monday meant that she worked through lunch and recess because no one told her it was lunch time. She often has to move to a different room to finish her tests because she needs more time. On Tuesday she was ecstatic because she finished without even needing to move to a different room. 

Sarah had her first dress rehearsal at the actual venue for High School Musical Jr. It went well and I somehow survived seeing her navigate the steep stone steps leading up to the auditorium. She was steady and fine, but I still wonder if there isn’t a set of less steep, less stoney steps for everyone to use! The rehearsal schedule said parents aren’t allowed to watch, but when I dropped her off two people said I was welcome to stay. I didn’t that day but I will this Thursday. I’m feeling nervous about her staying healthy and well for this whole week when she will have later bedtimes than usual because of the rehearsal schedule. Last year she got sick after the first performance of Peter Pan Jr, so only got to do the one night. So fingers crossed and any good wishes and prayers are welcome for this upcoming week. 

Last night Carl and I went out to see an improv show. It was a late performance so we had the parents of Amy’s BFF stay at our house till we got back at 11:30. Sarah was already tucked into bed before we left. As a precaution, I explained what to do if Sarah had a seizure, but said the chances were incredibly small because we have increased her meds and usually her seizures are around 3 or 4am. Did I jinx the situation? At 3 am Sarah had a seizure. It was the usual sort for her where it takes her about half an hour before she talks to us and she is wobbly on her feet but extremely determined to get to our bed. After some snuggling next to me she then became equally determined to be in her own bed. She seems to be in good shape this morning, but I’m sure we could all use a nap later. It always takes some time for Carl and me to fall asleep after such an episode because of our own adrenaline spikes. I’m also frustrated by this seizure because it seems like increasing Sarah’s medication didn’t actually take care of the situation. Carl and I both independently started wondering if we should ask the neurologist about putting her back on the med she used to take in addition to the one she’s on now. 

Yesterday was a big day for all of us. In the morning Sarah’s seasonal allergies were in full force and she waited longer than usual to have breakfast, so by the time she did eat she wasn’t feeling great. We wondered if Kid’s Marathon plan could happen. It did! But it felt like a last minute thing regarding Sarah’s participation. I ran errands and cleaned the house while Carl and the girls did the one mile kid’s marathon. Sarah got a high five from a Pierogi as she was valiantly persevering to finish the race. Carl went at Sarah’s pace while Amy zoomed ahead. After that adventure they waited in lots of traffic on their way to a bakery to celebrate, with Carl promising Sarah they could go to Rita’s later in the day because they didn’t have time after the bakery. Amy had a playdate with school friends and she walked in mere minutes before they arrived. Sarah and Carl had a long nap and I went for a long walk, unexpectedly meeting one of my best friends as I rounded a corner! It was a glorious sunny day and I was relishing my ability to walk easily again.

It has been a month since I started working with my new myofascial restructuring practitioner. I’ve had three appointments and feel like I have my body back in a way I had forgotten was possible. I also stopped wearing the sneakers that I thought were the most helpful pair of shoes I had. I got a pair of barefoot shoes and that plus the homework I do for my practitioner have made all the difference in the world. If I put on my old sneakers my leg starts bothering me in the same vague way that it had been for months. If I’m in my barefoot shoes I can walk for over an hour in the woods comfortably! I can walk at a pace that feels like my old speed, long before my hip replacement. And now I don’t think about my hip or leg with every step. A few months ago I felt like I had such a setback with my fall and that maybe PT and working with my trainer were overdoing things. Now my trainer even noticed a difference in how I’m moving. He even had me do a tiny jog and I could!

Something has been amiss with the heating system in my office for a long time, but it was never intolerable until this week when my office was probably 90 degrees. My office is in the basement and the thermostat is in my suite-mate’s room. My room is always notably warmer than her room. Her thermostat read 88 degrees. We have both complained to the building manager and have been told someone will look into it. We complained on Monday and I asked to be told when the work was scheduled. I have heard nothing. On Friday I opted to see my clients at home (not ideal but do-able) because I couldn’t bear the thought of doing four hours of massage in 90 degree heat. My clients would have been uncomfortable too.

The last part of this slightly unusual week was that as Amy left to go to school on Friday morning, someone sat up from our porch swing! It was a man who said he didn’t have a home and was just trying to get warm (it was 37 degrees). Perhaps I should have taken him to my office! I assured him that he could stay and I got him some food and blankets. He slept for 4 hours and then I gave him a warm meal. He spoke English but Spanish was his primary language. I speak some Spanish and can understand much more than I can speak. So between us we did alright, but if the timing for when he was awake had been different I would have called Carl’s mom to have her help communicate since she is fluent in Spanish. Anyway, the man was very nice and seemed quite moved by my kindness. When he left he took all of the blankets with him, so I’m glad I knew that was a possibility when I selected which ones to provide. He certainly needs them more than I do. I can only imagine all of the challenges he has faced and all that are yet to come.